Transmutation 101
by Punishershadow
Summary: Harry and crew get taught alchemy by the Fullmetal Alchemist. HPFMA crossover, no pairings.-ABANDONED, UP FOR ADOPTION
1. Chapter 1

Listen, I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. They belong the respective people to which they belong, which ain't me. I ain't makin' money offa this, just doing it for kicks. Please don't sue me.

Chapter One

It was night, and the full moon bathed Number Four Privet Drive in its silvery caress. Harry Potter was sitting at the window, deep in thought. He'd been in a haze ever since the end of the last school year at Hogwarts, and the tragic death of his friend Cedric Diggory. He was thinking of nothing in particular when three shapes appeared on the horizon. A fourth appeared out of nowhere, and he was dive-bombed by his friend Ron Weasley's owl, Pig. Harry, long out of touch with his friends, eagerly grabbed the letter from the bird.

_Dear Harry,_

_How've you been? I've been fine, mostly. Ginny's been sleepwalking, though. I found her doing vicious battle with a mop in the kitchen yesterday night. Mum and Dad say you'll spend the rest of the summer with us. Protection, you know. Dad _is_ a Ministry Wizard. Be there in two days._

_Ron_

_P.S. Errol and Hermes will be there soon. Happy Birthday._

Errol and Hermes, the other two Weasley owls, had arrived by the time Harry finished the letter. Between them was a package containing his gifts. That it was his birthday had totally slipped his mind. Inside were cakes, some Quidditch goggles, three packs of Dungbombs, some Fizzing Whizbees candies, and at the bottom a small, heavy paper-wrapped package marked, "To H., f/ F, G, B, C, & R. In case need arises to defend yourself, and a wand is unavailable. Take care."

Harry unwrapped the package to discover a small rectangle of black Kevlar, with pockets on it, and a mind-blowing array of straps, buckles, and snaps. Harry found the manual, a sheet of paper with diagrams on it. It was a set of three throwing knives, and the sheath could be configured to many different ways of carry. He laid it aside. The other owl he'd seen was a tawny with a package. It was a school owl, and the package contained a book. _Transmutational Alchemy_ by Shau Tucker. A letter fell out.

_Dear Mister Potter,_

_Due to the unfortunate failure of the Hogwarts staff to find a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for the coming year, we will be unable to have that class. therefore, an expert in Alchemy will teach a course on his particular field. The enclosed book is the text for the course. It was purchased as your birthday present by Hagrid, and as a gift I have purchased all of your other books and supplies. They await you at school._

_Albus Dumbledore_

A post owl arrived an hour later with Hermione's gift, a silver pendant on a chain. It was engraved with supple, coiling Celtic designs, and in the center was a small green stone, with red flecks. It was a bloodstone. He put it with the knives and lay down to sleep.

His alarm went off three hours later. Harry glanced at the clock. It was nearly seven in the morning, and his guardians, the Dursleys, would be up soon. He glanced at the bedside table, and noticed his gifts. He put on the pendant, and tucked it under his t-shirt. He managed to decipher the diagrams on the manual, and after ten minutes of subdued swearing, he had it rigged as a shoulder holster and shrugged on a button-up shirt to cover it. By then the Dursleys were awakening. Harry quickly stashed the rest under the loose floorboard beneath his bed, and went out to meet the new day.

Two days later, Harry was still on top of the world. After much haggling and the threat of writing to his godfather, Harry was on his way to the Weasleys' home, the Burrow. Such were the perks of having a convicted killer for a godfather. He'd been slipping out at night to practice his knife throwing, and he was getting pretty good. He'd managed to figure out all the other carry modes, and switched them up daily. His favorite was the wrist carry. It seemed that he could take the individual sheathes of his knives, and fold them, so that they lay in a stack, strap it to his wrist, and a single flick would send a knife into hand, ready to go. Hermione was there, and everything was going great. She'd been doing nonstop research ever since she'd purchased her books, and she was poring over the text on alchemy on a daily basis. By the time arrived to go to Hogwarts, She knew the text inside and out, and had a theory on who the teacher was. She'd read recently in the _Daily Prophet_ that the renowned alchemist Nicholas Flamel had passed away, so that ruled him out, unless he was like Professor Blinns, the History of Magic teacher, a guy so dedicated to his work that he taught as a ghost. She figured it would probably be the author, Shau Tucker. Or maybe one of his colleagues, maybe the man mentioned in the book as Tim Marcoh. Harry was somewhat curious, and Ron could care less. They boarded the train at King's Cross, and were off.

An hour or so into the trip, a knock was heard on the door of the compartment. It was a smallish child, with blond hair in a short braid. He was dressed in black, with a red coat and white gloves. A silver chain hung at his waist. "Mind if I take a seat? All the other compartments are full."

Harry replied. "Sure. We've got room to spare. I'm Harry Potter, by the way. This is Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger."

"Thanks. I'm Edward Elric. Most folks call me Ed." He sat, and in a few minutes was asleep.

The trip went smoothly for almost halfway, and then trouble arrived. Draco Malfoy opened the compartment door, and sneered at the sight. "Well, well. Didn't expect to see you here, Potter. Thought you'd have chickened out by now. And it seems your girlfriend is still here, too. I thought she at least would have some sense, but I guess intelligence isn't to be expected of Mudbloods." Hermione winced at the insult, but didn't react. Ron, however, didn't turn the other cheek. He roared, and went to swing on Malfoy, but his arm was caught in mid-swing. He glanced back to see Elric gripping his wrist.

"Ron, this kid isn't worth it. You, Blondie. Get out."

Malfoy regarded him with scorn. "Or what? I doubt you can do anything, Pipsqueak." Malfoy would soon learn the error of that statement. But before Ed could react, he compounded his mistake by making another. "Come on, you're so short you have to look up to look down." There was no sound, no indication of the anger that pair of sentences elicited, save only the powerful smack of a hard right to the jaw connecting on Malfoy's chin. Instant knockout. His toadies Crabbe and Goyle dragged the unconscious kid out of the compartment. All three students turned to him, staring.

"What? I hate being called short."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

When the train arrived at the castle, Harry, Hermione, and Ron disembarked the train, and it wasn't until they were on the carriages to the castle that Harry Realized something. "Hey, guys, I didn't see that boy, Ed, get on the boats with the first-years."

Hermione just sat quietly. She appeared deep in thought. Ron and Harry talked all the way up to the gates. They speculated on many things, like weather, and Quidditch, and Professor Snape the Potions teacher's choice of hair care products.

When they were inside, sitting at the Gryffindor table, Hermione was still very quiet. Ron glanced at the Staff table. "Hey Harry, looks like they got a new suit of armor. Look." Sure enough, a previously unseen suit of hulking armor stood behind the table, behind the only vacant seat. Dumbledore stood. The room got very quiet all at once.

"Students and faculty, before we begin this new year at Hogwarts, I would like to make some announcements. First, the list of contraband items has been expanded, and will be posted outside Mr. Filch's office. Please read it. Second, the staff has, unfortunately, been unable to procure a teacher to fill Professor Moody's vacated Defence Against the Dark Arts position. Thus, we will not have that class. Instead, I have called an expert on the subject of Alchemy, and he has graciously agreed to instruct you in this science. Please welcome our newest teacher, Mister Edward Elric." Harry and Ron's jaws dropped simultaneously. The short blond kid from the train walked out of the shadows and bowed. Dumbledore spoke again. "And please also allow me to welcome Professor Elric's assistant and younger brother, Alphonse Elric. The new suit of armor stepped forward, bowed, and in a high, squeaky voice, said, "Pleased to meet you." They then took up their original positions. Ed sat at the table, and Al stood behind him. Talk immediately erupted across all the tables, from the Slytherin table most of all. Harry was pleased to see Malfoy rubbing his chin gingerly. The meal passed quickly, with little being eaten and much being said.

"Hey, Harry, why do you reckon Dumbledore got a kid to be a teacher? I mean, he can't be much older than us, can he?"

"I suppose that expertise knows no age, Ron. But did you see the way he layed Malfoy out on the train?"

At this point Ron's brothers, Fred and George, got in on it. "He decked Malfoy? For what?" Harry told them. "For calling him short? Whoa! I like him already," declared Fred.

Meanwhile, Hermione said little, but seemed engrossed in her alchemy text. The longest sentence she uttered all meal was, "I think he'll do fine." Harry and Ron were getting worried. Usually Hermione was a little more talkative than that.

They went up to the tower, and after an argument with the Fat Lady, they managed to get in. She said the password was "to-may-to," but the prefects said "to-mah-to," and it just degraded and raged for a few minutes, until finally, the Fat Lady relented. Harry went straight to bed.

The next day dawned warm and sunny. Harry rolled out of bed, donned his robes, and checked his schedule. "Blast it! Double Alchemy with the Slytherins!" He grabbed his books, and rushed off to breakfast. He couldn't find Ron or Hermione at breakfast, and ate alone. They showed up toward the end of breakfast, looking rather tired and disheveled. "Where were you? You look like you just played fetch with Fluffy."

Ron said, "Fluffy would be tame compared to this. I can't talk about it, because I don't know what it was. Hagrid got Hermione and me to help muscle some crates to the back of his hut. And I mean, actually muscle. What ever was in there wasn't happy with magic. What's first class?" He wolfed down a slice of bacon.

"Double Alchemy. With the Slytherins."

Ron looked hopeful. "Cool, maybe Malfoy will get nailed again. You have to admit, though Harry. What happened on the train sure beats the bouncing ferret thing from last year." Harry agreed, and they left.

The classroom looked almost normal, with small vials and bottles on shelves along the walls, and pictures of what looked like family and friends. There was a picture of tow kids who must have been Ed and his brother, and other pictures. After a certain one, Ed just seemed to abruptly quit smiling. Many students commented on the pictures, which unlike wizarding photos did not move. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down near the middle of the room. Ed and Al walked in. The whole class, save a few Slytherins, said, "Good morning, Professor."

Ed looked a little ill. "Don't call me Professor. Ed will do. Before we begin, I feel I should introduce myself. My name's Ed Elric, and I suppose you already knew that. My brother and I are from the east, in a little town called Rizembul. I am an alchemist, and I hope to turn all of you into alchemists. Any questions?"

Hermione's hand went up. "Ed, I have a question, if it's not too rude to ask? How long have you been a State Alchemist?"

Ed sort of smiled. "It's not too rude. I've been a State Alchemist for two or three years now. How could you tell?"

"The silver watch, and I knew about it because the text book mentioned it."

"Ah, I see. By the way, class. I was never told who wrote the text. I just came to teach and they provided the books. What book were you issued?"

Harry raised his hand. "Sir, the book is _Transmutiational Alchemy_ by a man named Shau Tucker." Ed's face momentarily twisted into a scowl, and then returned to a look of slight amusement.

"Well, class. First lesson. Put the books away, and get out something to write with. One of the first things about my class, is you will take some notes. Can anyone tell me what is alchemy?"

Hermione's hand yet again shot up. "Sir, alchemy is the process of taking one thing, breaking it down, and making something else out of it."

"Good job, Miss, uh, what is your name, anyway?"

"Granger, Sir. Hermione Granger."

"Well, Hermione, you just earned your house ten points. And don't call me Sir. Can you tell me what the three steps to an alchemic reaction are?"

"Analysis, Deconstruction, Reconstruction, Si- I mean Ed."

"Very good. Ten more points." The lesson continued for a while, and everything was cool, until the peace was shattered by a voice. Everyone looked to the back of the class, to see Draco Malfoy standing up, making his way to the door.

"See, you, Professor Shorty. I don't need alchemy. Never will. Useless garbage."

Ed spoke. "Okay, then, Blondie. I'll make a deal with you. How about you and me step outside, and duel. Your magic against my alchemy. If you win, I'll pass you. You can sleep and throw spitwads and play cards in my class, and I'll pass you for the year. But when I win, you sit down, and you pay attention, and you learn. My job is to teach you, and I _will _teach you, if I have to tie you down and shove the textbook down your pasty throat. Do we have a deal?"

Malfoy grinned. "We have a deal."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The entire class trailed out of the room, and down onto the grounds. Ed looked around, and said to his brother, "Al, move 'em back a little. Like at the Eastern Headquarters when I duked it with Mustang." He watched as his brother hurried the students back a hundred feet, and then he looked at Malfoy. "Okay, here's the rules. You can use any spell, jinx, curse, charm, countercurse, or otherwise you can think of. I'm not picky. No harming the crowd, though, and no whining when I put you down. Got it?"

Malfoy just grinned, and drew his wand. "Professor Shrimpy, My name is Draco Malfoy, and you have just bitten off more than you can chew. I accept your terms." He stepped back a few paces and bowed.

Al stepped forward, and watched as Ed checked the fit of his gloves. He raised his hand, and with a single high-pitched yell of "fight!" the match began. Malfoy opened with a simple Full-body bind, which Ed easily dodged. Ed retaliated by snapping his fingers, and a gout of flame almost three meters in length erupted from his hand, singing Malfoy's robe as he dodged just in time. Ed started to dance around, and Harry thought he could see a slight drag in one of the teacher's legs. Ed kept snapping and burning, and Malfoy now tried using Water Charms, in hopes of putting out the flames. Ed suddenly smiled as Malfoy let loose a particularly large jet of water. Ed snapped his fingers, and the two met in midair. the water vaporized instantly, obscuring the scene from view. There was a clap, and a burst of light, and when the fog cleared, the match was over. Malfoy was bound hand and foot, held in place against the castle walls by, of all things, the castle walls. It looked as if the wall itself had flowed like water and wrapped him up. He was cursing and swearing profusely, and Ed walked over calmly, picked up Malfoy's wand, and pocketed it. "Malfoy, shut up. Any more profanity and I'll give you detention, plus take twenty points in the bargain. You lost, so now you'd better honor your word, and pay attention in my class. I'm going to release you now, so you'd better behave." He took a piece of chalk from his pocket, drew a complex circular design on the wall holding Malfoy, and clapped his hands. When he touched his hands to the stone, it flashed brightly, and flowed back to the way it was originally. Malfoy rubbed his wrists and scowled when Ed tossed him his wand. Ed turned, and Harry was watching him walk back toward the door when he caught movement from the corner of his eye. Malfoy had raised his wand, and was aiming it at Ed's back! Harry watched as the first syllable of the Stunning Curse left Malfoy's lips, and Harry reacted without thinking. He shouldered Ed out of the way, and at the same time flicked a knife from his now ever-present sheath. he watched as the knife reached Draco at the same time as the spell fired. He took it right on the chin and blacked out.

Harry awoke in an office he'd been inside before. He sat up. "What happened?"

Ed spoke from behind him. "Careful. You took a Stunner head-on. Nice throw, by the way. You really saved my bacon back there."

"No problem. I just moved before my mind could start to work. How's Malfoy?"

"You didn't kill him, but he'll wish you had once I get through with him. I just have to give his right hand some time. You split his wand and pinned his hand to the wall. Very good throw. Reminds me of a close friend of mine. Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes. He uses knives, too. Smaller, and a different design, but the same carry. By the way, I took your knives off you when I brought you in here. They're on the table by the window. Thanks for the save, Harry."

"You're welcome, Ed."

"Now get to your dorm. Last thing I need is you getting busted by a prefect or something. Now scram." Harry left.

Back at the dorm, people were absolutely raving about the match, and Malfoy's attempted treachery, and Harry's dazzling save. In the telling, of course, certain parts were judiciously embellished, and the first thing said to Harry upon his arrival was how in the world did he manage to pin Malfoy's entire arm to the wall and not hit any major blood vessels, and the second was did Malfoy actually try the Cruciatus curse on Professor Ed. Harry just grabbed some things, and hopped on his broom. He rode the Firebolt out the window, down to the grounds and away from everyone else. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out his latest aquisition. At first glance it looked like a small wooden box, but when Harry tapped it with his wand, it expanded and grew into a wooden dummy the size of a man. Harry hung it from a tree, stepped back, and started to practice. He threw from every conceivable position, from all the modes of carry, and even tried some moving shots with the target stuck to his broom. He was getting good at leading a moving target, and took a little pride in un-horsing the dummy three times in a row, with clean headshots each time. He was lazing against a tree, flicking a blade into the dummy's torso a few feet away, and drawing it back with Summoning Charms. After about the fifth "_Accio Knife_" he heard footsteps behind him and wheeled, coming face-to-face with Ron and Hermione. "Hello, guys. Nice weather, eh?" he said, lowering the blade in his hand.

Ron was first to speak. "Harry, you were brilliant! You saved a teacher's life, and you got Malfoy! Bravo!" Harry was too bored to tell Ron to be quiet. He just grinned, wheeled, and flicked the knife into the dummy's head. "I practiced. How long until his hand heals?"

Hermione, who'd been silent up to this time, spoke up. Her tone was subdued, and her expression dark. "It won't. I was just up by the hospital wing to visit Neville. He tripped and fell into a Venomous Tentacula earlier. I was going past Madame Pomfrey's office when I overheard her talking to someone. She said that the wounds were through Malfoy's wrist, and that it almost completely severed his nerves. No magic can heal nerve damage, Harry. It means that he's lost the use of his right hand.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"He's lost the use of his right hand. Permanently."

Harry was speechless. He hadn't known, hadn't intended to do permanent damage.

Ron was in shock. "Snape'll kill you, Harry. He'll have you expelled or thrown into Azkaban or something. You lamed a fellow student, permanently, irreparably. Snape's going to absolutely _kill_ you."

Hermione spoke. "Ron, shut up. I'm sure that Professor Snape, however irritated he may be, will understand and will see that Harry reacted to the best of his abilities in defense of another." Harry barely caught the faint "I hope," under her breath.

"I'm sure we'll get through it, guys. Besides, I hear Malfoy's ambidextrous. It'll all turn out for the best, I'm sure." Harry was trying to be positive. It worked a little, and the three set out for the castle.

In the weeks following, Malfoy was heard of very little, heard from even less, and Alchemy progressed fairly smoothly in his absence. The class was now performing simple transmutations, stuff like transmuting twigs and charcoal into pencils, and fixing small objects. One day, Goyle was found in the back of class, talking with Pansy Parkinson, who it was reputed had a crush on Malfoy, and they were drawing a small but complex transmutation circle. Onto it they'd placed two cages, one containing a rat and the other a garter snake. Ed was attracted by the noise of Pansy telling Gregory to be quiet and watch what he drew. "What are you two doing back there?" When he saw, his face was twisted into a harsh scowl, and he spoke again. "First, you will _not_ be trying to use alchemy in that way in my class; you both lose twenty points apiece. Second, where did you find the design for that circle? Third, you are both utter rookies, and I'll not sit by and watch you two torment those two animals, so you two had better let 'em go. _NOW._"

Pansy and Goyle let the rat and the snake loose out the window, and Pansy turned to the very back of her book. "Here, Professor, there's a chapter about creating chimeras. We just thought-"

"No, you didn't think. That's the problem. I will tolerate no chimera creation in my class, and I doubt if you two could control it eve-"

Pansy cut him off. "But the Sewing-Life-"

"Thirty points! Never mention that bastard around me! And don't cut me off. In fact, you both get to help me clean up after class today. Now sit down, shut up, and don't ever try that again."

Hermione lifted her hand. "Um, Professor, why aren't we supposed to mention the name of the author of our textbooks? He is a gifted alchemist and a colleague of yours."

Ed sighed, and scowled. "I suppose you should know. But while I tell you, I want all of you to pile up your texts in that corner. Got it? Good. I suppose I should start at the beginning. When a person is accepted as a State Alchemist, they receive a second name, used to describe their specialty or something about them. My commander, Colonel Roy Mustang, for example, controls fire; in fact, he does what I did in my duel with Malfoy. Those were his gloves I was wearing. He's called the Flame Alchemist. Now Shau Tucker's specialty was creating chimeras, combining different creatures to create alchemic attack dogs, in essence. He was called the Sewing-Life Alchemist. He's most famous for creating-"

"For creating a chimera that could speak in a human tongue!" Hermione burst out.

"Yes, Hermione. That. Now let me finish. That chimera was what passed him in the State Alchemist Certification Exams. It died an hour later, having spoken one word. 'Why.' When I was getting ready to take the exams, I boarded with him. Him and his daughter. The night I passed the exams he created another talking chimera. He alchemically fused his dog Alexander and _his own daughter_! The bastard did it so well that to try and separate them would've killed them. The reaction to fuse two beings into a chimera is horrifically painful, enough to drive a man insane. Imagine the effect it had on a five year-old girl! She was found an hour or so later. Someone had tried to use alchemy to separate them. It resulted in her death. She was little more than a bloody smear on the wall of the alley where she was found. Never, ever, mention that bastard Tucker around me. Understand?"

The class was silent. In fact, Pansy and Goyle both looked rather ill. Ed had a feeling that they wouldn't go near chimera-making again. "Okay, class, I need a volunteer for a special project. From now on, we will no longer be using the textbooks. Thus, I need a volunteer to dispose of them. Any volunteers?" Ron raised his hand, and Ed looked at him. Ron was shaking. "Okay, Ron. Give it a whirl."

Ron got up, and walked to where the books were stacked in the corner. He knelt down, drew a transmutation circle on the floor, and tried a transmutation. He didn't transmute the books, but made a pedestal out of the stone. Ron was now shaking visibly, and tears were running down his face. He let out a howl, "THAT MONSTER!" and clapped his hands, performing a transmutation. When the blinding light faded, there stood atop the pedestal a beautiful wooden statue of a little girl, looking so real that it looked like she was sealed in the wood mid-laugh. Ron was on his knees, sobbing, and Ed and Al were agape.

Al was the first to speak. "You performed alchemy without a circle. I thought only Ed could..."

"Al, it seems we have a prodigy. Fifty points to Gryffindor, and Ron, I must say I'm impressed. You just put yourself on a level separate from the rest of the class. You are all dismissed. Ron, stay a while. I need to talk with you."

The class filed out, some talking about the story, some about the statue, but most about Ron and his transmutation. Ron himself, he sat on the floor and gazed at the statue he'd created. "Sir, I knew her. The Tuckers used to live next door to us, and Mum would watch Nina. How could he do that to his own...?" He trailed off.

"He's insane. He's spent his life after that trying to bring her back to life. He hasn't succeeded."

"Ed, how did I...?"

"The transmutation? It was your emotions. Strong emotions, like your sorrow, can negate the need for a transmutation circle. I remember the first time I ever did a circleless reaction. I was panicking because I was snowed in at a friend of mine's house, he'd left, and his wife was in labor. Don't laugh; I was honestly scared out of my mind, and I ended up heating a pot of water without a circle."

Ron took a lump of charcoal, and a stick, and laid them side by side. He clapped, and slammed his hand down on the table. No results. He tried again and again, and got the same lack of results.

"Visualize the circle in your mind, and let your emotions loose. Channel your emotion into your hands, and try again."

Ron took a deep breath, and saw the circle in his mind. He focused, and tried again. There was brilliant flash, and there on the table lay a pencil.

"There. You see? Now go and practice. Tomorrow's a big day. Very big."

Ron walked out into the hall, and from his bag took a faded photograph. It was of a little girl, barely two, and a puppy, and a smiling man in glasses and a rumpled shirt. They waved, and a tear rolled down his cheek. "Why would a man do such a thing, commit such an atrocity? Why?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Ron was bombarded by questions as soon as he walked into the common room. There were the usual, how did he do it, could he teach so-and-so, the usual. but teh loudest was Hermione. "How did you do that, Ron! It was amazing! Alchemy without a circle is probably very rare! Why else wouldn't I have heard about it?" By now, all the others had stepped back, and were waiting as Ron sat down. He looked rather ill.

He held his head in his hands and began. "I once knew Shau Tucker, and his daughter, Nina. I was there when she got Alexander as a puppy. The Tuckers used to live next door to us, guys. Mum would babysit for them when they were away, which was pretty frequently. I bean to think of Nina as the little sister I didn't have. This was before you were born, Ginny. I knew her, I loved her as I love you, Ginny, as I love Fred and George and Bill, and Percy, and Charlie. She was family to me, guys. She was family. When I heard Ed talk about what had happened, I just lost it. It felt like the gates of my soul just burst open. The second time I transmuted, I saw the circle flash before my eyes and my hands moved without thought, and the results are standing in the corner of Ed's room. Ed explained to me after class that circle-less alchemy is really rare. Do you know how many people are able to perform it, have been able to perform it in the past millennium?"

Hermione answered, "A few hundred?"

Ron looked right at her. "As of today, four." The jaws of everyone in the room dropped. "Don't look at me like that. He even told me their names. Besides me, there's Ed himself, Izumi, who taught Ed and his brother alchemy, and an orphan boy who goes by 'Wrath'."

Everyone crowded round and congratulated him. Harry muscled through, and dragged Ron up atop a table. "Everyone, It seems as though there is now a celebrity in our midst. I have to admit, the fourth person in a thousand years to perform alchemy without a transmutation circle is a fair piece higher than the Boy Who Lived, eh? So in honor of Ronald Weasley, I will be at his beck and call for the rest of the night!" He knelt in front of Ron and said, "What is your first command, Sir?"

Ron, taken aback by the turn of events, said, "Rise, I like to talk to someone's face, not the top of his head." Harry rose. "Now, I think this calls for a celebration! George, Fred, I know you've got some Honeyduke's stashed somewhere, so break it out! Harry, we need entertainment; got any ideas?" Meanwhile, Fred had drawn a circle and transmuted an armchair into a throne. These people were really going the whole hog with this party. Ron finally got irritated by all the rock-star treatment he was getting, and made it known that he really wanted to go to bed. He muscled his way through the crowd, past a couple that looked like they could care less about the world around them as they passionately snogged in a shadowy corner. Ron piled into bed and fell asleep to the tune of the Weird Sisters from the common room below. His last conscious thought was about notes _not _heard.

The next day dawned wet and rainy, and everyone filed into the classroom for Alchemy very glum. Especially the members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Harry, in his first official act as Team Captain, had decreed that, in the tradition of his predecessor, Oliver Wood, they would practice in all weather, rain or shine, and his teammates were not happy.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

As class began, Harry looked around the room. Everyone was looking very gloomy, and the members of the Quidditch team were all giving him dirty looks at all opportunities. Ed came into the room, and Al behind him. Al had played a small role in the class up until then, mostly doing after-period tutoring while Ed handled the mountains of paperwork that seemed to be stock-in-trade for both the military and teaching both. Harry also noticed Madame Pomfrey, the nurse, sitting along the back wall. Harry wondered what brought her down from the Infirmary.

Ed came to the front of the class. "Today, class, we will be doing a little applied alchemy work. As you know, before I came here to teach, I was a State Alchemist in my homeland. I held, and still hold, the rank of Major. Alchemy can be used for many things; it's a very versatile science. Nearly anything is possible, if you take a care to always follow Equivalent Exchange. Militarily, alchemy can be used both to attack, and to heal. For example, I need a volunteer. Preferably someone who has no qualms about injury."

Nobody raised their hands. Finally Harry was about to when one of his teammates, Angelina Spinnet, walked the front. "I'll do it, Professor."

"Thank you. And will everyone please quit calling Professor or Sir? I prefer Ed, thanks. Now, back to business. Angelina, I'm going to ask one more time before I do this, Are you want to do this? You _will_ get hurt, and it will be very painful."

"I'll do it, Ed. Do your worst."

"You asked for it." Ed clapped his hands, and slammed them to the floor. A piece of stone liquefied, and wrapped around Angelina's left leg. As the class looked on, the Slytherins in rapt approval, the liquid stone forcibly contracted. The whole class heard the snaps like a pair of pistol shots, and Angelina's Agonized scream. "Madame Pomfrey, an anesthetic, please. And a spell so the class can see the damage I just did." As Madame Pomfrey said the spells, the class looked on in mixed horror and amusement. "Class, I have just demonstrated the use of alchemy for attack. I liquefied the floor, and wrapped it around her leg. That in itself would hinder an opponent. But when it contracted, I broke her leg in four places, at the ankle, the tibia, the fibula, and the femur. Now, I will set the leg using alchemy, and offer Miss Spinnet my apologies for inflicting this pain upon her." He clapped, and barely grazed Angelina's leg. The class watched in amazement as the bones slid back into place, and when the reaction was done, it looked as though the leg had never seen a break. "I'm sorry to put you through this, Angie. Apology accepted?"

"No worries, Man. My family shrink says I display masochistic tendencies; that some chemical imbalance in my brain makes pain feel like pleasure. It felt great! You just made my day, Ed. You need to break my leg more often. But yeah, apology accepted."

"Okay, ladies and gents, that is your lesson, so here's your homework. I want you to pair off, and take turns using alchemy to attack your partner. Then once you're all black and blue and wheezing, you'll doctor each other up. Just a few rules. Don't inflict mortal injury. I don't want any cadavers. That's next week. Second, if I, Al, or Poppy tell you to do something, you will do it without any question. By letting you hurt each other, and leaving the degree of damage in your hands, I'm already taking a huge risk. Third, if your partner says to stop, do it. You can hurt them, but not torture them. Poppy, as the one with the most medical experience, I leave triage entirely in your hands. You're in charge of the medical part. I just teach alchemy. Ready, steady, go!"

The class swiftly paired up, and in mere seconds the room was engulfed in light, and noises from moans to shouted expletives were heard. Ron and Hermione were partners. Ron could tell Hermione was having a bad day. It showed, and in five minutes, He was on the ground. This wasn't his day. She had the floor liquefy and bind him to the ground, and she was now using a pair of wooden hammers made from a desk and a chair to, somewhat half-heartedly, but unfortunately not painlessly, beat him about the shins and chest. Ron managed to wriggle one hand free, clap it to his other, and Hermione now held two handfuls of toothpicks. He freed himself, and with a look of utter sorrow on his face performed the coup de gras. Hermione never saw it coming. He called Madame Pomfrey over and she walked him through what Hermione's injuries were, and He put her right. It was little more than a slight bump on the noggin. He, on the other hand, had severe contusions all about his body, a cracked hip bone, a dislocated shoulder, and two broken ribs. He'd never felt any; the adrenaline from the fight must've blocked it out. Hermione apologized as she mended his ribs and relocated his shoulder. Ed graded them, and they sat down to watch the rest of the class.

Harry was paired with Neville Longbottom, whose transmutation managed to leave little more than a slight tingling all over his right arm. Harry slapped him across the shins with a liquid brick, and they called it quits. Harry was drawn to Malfoy's duel with Fred Weasley. Malfoy had donned a pair of black falconer's gauntlets, perhaps as protection from his enemy's attacks. Then Harry saw Malfoy clap, and apparently do alchemy without a circle! From the stone floor arose a wicked-looking sword, and before anyone could see, Fred was on the floor, unable to stand, and Malfoy was crouched behind him. Fred tried several times to regain his feet, but could never make it. Malfoy clapped again, and Fred was hurled into the wall by a huge blast of wind. He lay against it, stunned, but still pretty coherent. Malfoy walked over, lay the blade on Fred's shoulder, up against the neck, and said to him, "Do you yield, Weasley? Do you yield to a superior swordsman, and a superior alchemist?" What he got was a bloody wad of phlegm in his eye. He roared in indignation, and was about to do a great ill to Fred when Al stopped him. "What do you want!"

"You've done enough. Now you have to doctor him."

"He can doctor his own damn self. I wash my hands of it." He turned to walk off. "Wait, I correct myself." Malfoy whirled with lightning speed and thrust, burying the sword in the wall. Fred was now sporting a deep gash on crook of his shoulder and neck, bleeding heavily. "_Now_ I wash my hands of it." He turned and left the classroom.

Hermione rushed over to Fred, as did Ron and the rest of the class. Fred was very much unconcious, and upon examination by Hermione and Madame Pomfrey, it was revealed the extent of his injuries. Malfoy had slashed both Achilles tendons in Fred's ankles, rendering him unable to stand. The blast of air and the impact of the wall had broken several ribs, his collarbone, and one arm. The gash had nicked the artery, but wasn't fatal. He'd live. Ed released him to the Infirmary, and class was dismissed.

Hermione walked over to where the sword Malfoy had used was still protruding from the wall. She wrenched it out, and looked at it. At first glance it was a regular broadsword, but a funny pattern of light on the blade caught her eye. When she ran a testing thumb over the flat of the blade, it was very rough, and her thumb was scraped raw. The cutting edges had microscopic serrations in them, as well. Even a light, glancing blow would deal damage. She mentally applauded Malfoy's skill, then physically retched at the thought. She took the blade to Ed's office. "Ed, are you there?"

"Come in. I need to speak with you as well." She entered. Ed was at his desk. The alchemist pulled a bottle of Butterbeer out from beneath the desk. "Here, have a drink. Combat's thirsty work, ain't it?" He also went to a cabinet and pulled out a glass and a bottle. He noticed Hermione looking at it as he poured a glass for himself. "Want some? It's Jim Beam bourbon. Real smooth."

"No thanks. Oh, what I came to see you about. I have the sword Malfoy used today. He left it in the wall."

Ed came over to look at it. He picked it up, swung it in a few basic techniques, and looked hard at the blade. "It's a samehada blade, but I thought you only saw those back east, in around Lior and Ish-" He cut himself off. "The blade has microscopic scales on the flats, and microserrations on the cutting edges. The blade is literally like sharkskin. I'm impressed."

"What do you suppose we do with it?" Hermione asked, intrigued.

"I'll keep it. Perhaps Malfoy will want it back."

"You said you wanted to speak with me, also?"

"Yeah. I wanted to ask you if you would care to help me with a little work I need done. It'll count extra credit, and twenty points a day to Gryffindor if you do it. What do you say?"

"What kind of work?"

"Research, sling some spells, and work as my assistant out in the field. Al's good, but he has some issues with the outdoors, especially around moisture. Rheumatism, or some such."

"I'll do it. I have some free periods in the afternoon, if that's okay."

"Great. See you tomorrow. Oh, and could you send Ron down when he has a spare minute. I want to discuss a few minor details about his performance."

"Sure. Goodbye, Ed." Hermione left, a great deal on


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Ed sat down on the chair in his office, and pulled out his bottle of Beam. He didn't used to drink, but too much time spent around Colonel Mustang had gotten him into the habit. He had things to think about, very important things that had him worried. "Al, she knows about us. Not how it happened, but she knows. Do you figure we ought to tell her?"

Al stepped out of the shadows. "Do you really think so, Brother? It could damage them."

"We'll do it, but when I don't know. But enough of that. Any news from Central?"

"As a matter of fact, I got a letter this morning from the Colonel. I haven't even opened it. Here." He dug the letter out of his chest and handed it to Ed. Sure enough, there was the seal of Roy's office.

Ed read the letter, then dropped it. "Of all the-! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" He swung down on the desk and a paperweight shaped like a griffin jumped. "Al, we have a problem. According to Colonel Bastard, not only is our old friend Scar in the neighborhood, so are the Homunculi. At least, Envy, Wrath, and Sloth are here. Lust _may_ be here. We are to locate them, and attempt to ascertain what their reasons for being here are. And we have to notify Dumbledore. Just great! Just great!"

"It could be worse..."

"Well, let's go. No time like the present, don't you think? Oh, and one more thing. I need to have a talk with Ron tonight. I have some questions in need of answers." Ed took off, with Al headed to the Gryffindor dorms.

Meanwhile, in the woods just beyond the borders of the Hogwarts grounds, a low, hunched shape raced though the boughs, making directly toward the castle. It ran by a herd of unicorns, barely disturbing a leaf. It leapt a stream, and dove into a small cave on the other side. Above it, Hagrid walked, going to see the state of the animals he was nurturing for his Care of Magical Creatures classes, a litter of Kneazles. He and Fang never saw what hit them.

Harry was in the Great Hall with the rest of Gryffindor's Quidditch team discussing plays when Hagrid burst in. "Harry! Get Dumbledore! My, God, he, he, Ahhh!" The half-Giant fainted. The team heard the stone floor crack and three tables jumped.

Harry took charge immediately. "Angelina! Go get Madame Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape! Katie, go to the statue of the gargoyle on the third floor and start naming off candies as fast as you can. When the statue moves, go through the door to Professor Dumbledore's office and tell him we have a situation. I'll try and revive Hagrid. The rest of you, help me get him off the floor. Levitators on three. One, two, three!" The massive man lifted off the ground and sure enough, the floor beneath his head was cracked and sunk in, as if hit by a sledgehammer. They moved him onto a table, which groaned beneath his bulk. "Now step back. _Ennervate_." As Hagrid stirred, Harry held his hand. "Lie still, Hagrid. You've been through something awful. I don't know what yet, but I did have someone go for Dumbledore. I also sent them after some teachers and Madame Pomfrey. Just lie still, and relax."

At that moment, the teachers walked through the door. Snape was first on the scene. "What happened! It had better be important!"

"Hey, Angie, what's with the scorch marks on Snape's face?"

"I sorta startled him while he was mixing something. It blew up on him."

Meanwhile, Dumbledore had come to his gamekeeper's side. "Severus, please give the man some time. He's obviously been through something very traumatic to have sent a girl bursting into my office, when only I, the staff, and one student know the secret to my office password." He winked at Harry and mouthed, "Crunch Bar".

Hagrid sat up rather groggily, and rubbed his head. "Professor, Sir, it was horrible. Positively horrible. I was on my way through the Forest to a little spot by the creek where I'd left a litter of Kneazle pups I'd found, and somebody, or some_thing_, attacked me and Fang. It looked like a short bald man in black. But it was no man. He laughed high and loud like a lunatic as he done it, too. He also drooled, and his spit burnt the ground when it hit, hissed just like acid. He hit me and it felt like a Stunner, but it was just a punch, then he swung around the trees as I tried to defend meself with my umbrella, swung just as quick as an ape. Then he dropped down out of the branches, and he, he..." He fell silent after mumbling something. He just sat there and sobbed.

"What, Hagrid? What did he do?" asked Professor McGonagall.

Hagrid's eyes were blank when he looked up. "He grabbed Fang by the head, and he _ate_ him. He ate my dog. I just lay there, listening to the bones crunch, and watching him chew up my best friend. I did nothing!" He fell to sobbing again, this time inconsolably.

"Poppy, please escort Hagrid to the Infirmary, and give him something to help him sleep. Lord knows he needs it. Minerva, Severus, please follow me. We have much to discuss. Dobby!" The house elf appeared from nowhere. "Please find Professors Flitwick, and Sprout. Tell them to meet me in my office." The servant disappeared. "Harry, students, I would you all keep these events under your hats for the time being."

"Yes, sir." The teachers left, and the team afterward. Harry went to the dorms, and got his things for his Potions class. This was going to be a long day.

When Dumbledore arrived in his office, Ed was sitting by Fawkes and stroking the phoenix's head. "I got word from Central, Professor."

"And it may be that the word has arrived somewhat late. I was later on going to solicit your assistance with a matter that has come up. An unknown creature has attacked our gamekeeper."

"Hagrid? Is he okay?"

Snape spoke up. "He's fine. It ate his dog, though."

"Describe it, and I'll see if I know anything."

"Minerva, if you would. I must admit my memory is somewhat vague."

McGonagall sat down with Ed and looked him in the eye. "Hagrid said it attacked him in the Forest. It came out of nowhere and hit him in the chest. He said it sounded human, but it was too fast and agile to be human, too strong. It swung through the branches like an ape, then it came out of the trees and ate Fang. Hagrid said it looked like-"

"A short, bald man, with a high-pitched voice and corrosive saliva."

"Why, yes. You know this man?"

"It's not a man. It's Gluttony. A homunculus."

Professors Sprout and Flitwick, who had been discussing security with Dumbledore, asked in unison, "Homunculus?"

"An artificial human, born when an alchemist tries to perform a human transmutation, tries to bring someone back from the dead. The homunculus resembles, fully, the person the alchemist sought to revive. But it has no soul, no memories, it's just a body. They have inhuman powers, like you'd never believe, plus they're nearly impossible to kill. I've only managed to kill one, Greed. They name themselves after the seven Deadly Sins. Hagrid ran into Gluttony. And where Gluttony is, Lust and the others can't be far behind." He cracked his knuckles. "And what's worse, we may have another problem."

"What? what could be worse than this?" asked Snape irritably. His startle in his office had ended up with him inhaling fumes off of several different things, the sum effect of which seemed to be massive euphoria. It was all he could do to keep from bursting out in hysterical laughter.

"I didn't say worse. I just said it was a problem. The letter I got from Mustang says that Scar is also headed this way. And I know exactly why he's coming."

"Okay, who is he, and why is he coming?"

"Scar's an Ishbalan. His people were wiped out several years ago in a war with Central. It was less of a war and more of a massacre. The Ishbalan religion condemns alchemy as an affront to God. His older brother was an alchemist, and when Scar lost his right arm to an old associate of mine, his brother used alchemy to transfer _his _arm to Scar. The reaction worked, but it also killed Scar's brother. The arm is tattooed with a complex design that works like a transmutation circle. He's used it to kill over fifty people, most soldiers and State Alchemists. I myself saw him kill one of the strongest alchemists in the military, Brigadier General Bask Grand, the Ironblood Alchemist. He tried to kill me. I'm the only one of his targets who ever got away. He's coming here for two reasons. One is to kill me. The other is to kill the homunculus Lust. She was created by his brother, trying to bring back his wife."

"What do you propose we do?" asked Dumbledore. "You are the expert."

"It's going to take a while. For now, we need to keep our ears open, and our mouths shut. Two of the homunculi, Envy and Sloth, are shapeshifters. No one must know. And send my deepest condolences to Hagrid over Fang. He was a good dog." Ed got up to leave. "I have some messages to send. In a few days expect company."


	8. Chapter 8

The next week was very tense. Even keeping it a secret, word still got out about something in the Forest. Students went everywhere in groups of twos and threes, wands drawn. But nonetheless classes continued. Hagrid managed to pull himself together long enough to teach three more classes, and finally was ordered to take a vacation when he broke down in front of a herd of third-years.

It was to this tense air that the train pulled in at Hogsmeade. From this train dismounted several people. They made their way to the castle, and were sitting around Ed's office when he walked in. "Hello, Ed. How's it feel to teach kids who are both younger, and taller, than you?"

Ed's response was instinctive. He walked over after the fact to help his commanding officer up and check to see if the Beam bottle was okay. He shook hands an exchanged pleasantries. "I suppose I should give you the rundown so far. I know the Homunculi are here. The day your letter arrived Gluttony attacked the gamekeeper and ate his dog. Now, listen. The Halloween holiday is coming up, so I'll introduce you there. Where is Izumi?"

"She's gone undercover in town. She's working as the night bartender at the Three Broomsticks."

"Alright then. You guys can stay in my chambers, and if you need anything yell for Dobby."

The weeks flashed by in a blur, with many bumps and bruises. Ed was a harsh taskmaster, but fair. The students learned much. When Halloween rolled around, the air was quite subdued. More strange things had been occurring. Puddles laying in the sun when it hasn't rained in many days, fleeting glimpses of a beautiful red-eyed woman in black darting through the forest. All were abuzz about this, but wary, after Hagrid's attack. Dumbledore walked to the podium and called for silence. "We have among us several new arrivals. As he knows them best, I will let Professor Elric perform the introductions."

"Thank you, Professor. Due to the fact that I can't keep up with all of you, and can't give you the attention needed, I called a few of my friends from back east to come and act as my teaching assistants. Allow me to introduce Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist!"

Roy stepped forward. He caught sight of a Slytherin struggling with a lighter. His fingers snapped, and a gout of flame burnt the Camel down to the filter. "No smoking. I'll allow my soldiers to do it, but not my students. Just hand up the pack and the lighter while you're at it."

Ed grinned. "It was from Roy that I learned how to do what I did during the duel with Malfoy. They were his gloves, too. But on to business. Next is Major Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strongarm Alchemist!"

Armstron stepped forward, flexed so hard his shirt disintegrated, and turned the sparkles on high-beam. "It would give me great pleasure to instruct you all! Teaching is a tradition handed down the Armstrong line for generations!"

"Okay..." Ed said. "Moving on, Second Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye!" She stepped forward, threw a coin into the air, and drilled it with her pistol. "Not an alchemist, but a bastion of information on alchemy; she's hung out with the colonel for her entire career. Plus she's a very good shot."

"Hey, Ed, don't forget about me," whined the girl in the back.

"And finally, a dear friend of mine, Winry Rockbell, of Rizembul. Also not an alchemist, but a great mechanic and she's hung out with me and Al since we were all young."

"Thank you, Ed."

"When classes resume, I'll split you up into four groups, not by Houses, and you'll be assigned to an assistant. From now on classes are outside on the Grounds, and you will be working to create your own style of alchemy. Find something that plays to your strengths, and learn it well. Because there will be tests, not to mention the Exams. The Final Exams for my class will be set up to parallel the State Alchemist Certification Exams. Study hard, and listen to these guys. They're the best at what they do." Ed stepped down.

Hermione was in shock, then the boys noticed a change on her face. It looked like _anticipation_. "What's going on, Hermione? You look like Harry before a match," asked Ron.

"Just thinking of the challenge that those Exams in Alchemy will be. I predict a seventy-percent failure rate."

"Seventy percent! No test is that hard!" yelled Lee Jordan.

"The State Alchemist Certification Exams are! There are three parts, a two-thousand question written test, an oral exam, the topic of which is completely unpredictable, and then there's the Practicals, where alchemists either perform on the spot or bring in the results of some of their research! And this will be a softened version! The last time the actual exams were held, only one person passed!"

The entire Gryffindor table went silent.

Meanwhile, at the Slytherin table, Draco Malfoy was hatching a plan. He was tired of being left-handed, and even though he'd used a Mirror charm to get his right hand to move, it was still a dead weight, with no feeling. He excused himself from the table.

It was twenty minutes later when he caught up with the Rockbell girl in the hallway. She was on the third floor staring at a painting. "Hello, Miss Rockbell."

She caught sight of him. "Winry, please. And who are you?"

"Draco Malfoy, of Slytherin House. Are you not the Winry Rockbell, of the Rizembul Rockbells, the greatest makers of prosthetic limbs in the East?"

"I am. Why?"

"Earlier in the year I sustained an injury in an accident that left my right hand useless. The nerves were severed at the wrist, and there's no way to fix them."

"So you want automail?"

"Just the hand and wrist. My family is quite wealthy, and will surely pay well."

"You realize that to do this I'll have to amputate part of your arm, and that the surgery to attach the limb will be excrutiating. I can't use any anesthetic or else the nerves won't connect properly."

"I do."

"Meet me in the Infirmary in two days."

The next day, Ed lived up to his promise to split the class up. Harry and Ron were assigned to Colonel Mustang, while Hermione was put in the care of Lieutenant Hawkeye. Most of the Slytherins, Malfoy included, got assigned to Major Armstrong. "Alright, kids," said Mustang,"We're going to go outside now, and when we get out there, I want a demonstration of what you can do. So you'll pair up, and duel each other. First to three knockdowns wins." They stepped out onto the grounds, and found a good place near the lake. "First match! Harry Potter versus Fred Weasley! Begin!"

The fight was tough. Harry had been studying different styles of fighting in his spare time, but he was completely unprepared for Fred to lay a circle on the ground, and transmute a sword from the rock. Fred lunged, and Harry parried it with one of his throwing knives. He grabbed Fred's arm, wheeled, and executed a perfect hip throw. Fred went sailing into the lake. Harry pulled out a pair of gloves that Hermione had helped him make. Inked on them was a circle. Harry snapped his fingers as fred stumbled out of the lake. A bolt of lightning arced out and licked over Fred's body. Fred went stiff, then collapsed in a boneless heap.

"The current shouldn't be enough to kill him, but I've never tried using the gloves on a person soaked in water before."

"It was an inventive move, Potter. Bravo. Ten points." Fred was beginning to wake up.

"Wha happened?" He slurred.

"Potter ended your match. Lightning bolt. So tell me, how's it feel to be a French-Fried Crispy Critter?"

"I thought for a second that I was dead."

"So did we. Next match is..." And so it went.

_Next time: Malfoy's hand, and a situation under a lot of pressure..._


	9. Chapter 9

While Harry and Ron were off with Mustang, Malfoy was under the oppressive tutelage of Armstrong. Armstrong had, like Mustang, paired off the class and was having them duel. Malfoy was pulled out of a daydream by the big man's voice booming in his ear. It was his turn.

Malfoy looked at his opponent. It was Ginny Weasley, and at his predatory leer she wilted slightly. "This is going to be fun." He checked the fit of his now ubiquitous gauntlets, and the match began. "I tell you what, Weasley, I'll give you a free shot. Hit me." A wall of clay wrapped up his legs. "Okay. My turn." He broke the clay, and clapped his hands. Ginny felt normal at first, then it got hard to breathe, and it started to feel very close, like a pressure building. Very soon she almost couldn't breathe at all, it felt like trying to breathe tar. She began to scream. She felt several sharp snaps in her chest.

"Mister Malfoy, release her! You've won! Release her this instant!" yelled Armstrong.

"Okay." And he did just that. He released the alchemy all at once. And Ginny screamed. The pain she'd felt earlier was nothing compared to this, it was like fire all through her. She contorted herself into a ball and kept screaming until her throat was raw.

"Take her to the Infirmary! Class dismissed!" And Armstrong stormed off to see to his student.

When Ron got back to the dorms, he was sore. Who knew that Gregory Goyle had such a grasp of alchemy? He walked in to find a very distraught-looking Angie Spinnet. "Ron! Oh, Ron, it's," and she trailed off.

"It's what?" He was concerned, because usually Spinnet was rather bubbly.

"It's your sister. She's in the Hospital Wing. Her and Malfoy dueled and he used some sort of alchemy on her. It was like torture when he used it, and it looked like it hurt worse when he released it. She's in a bad way."

Ron didn't remember running to the Infirmary. The next thing he knew he was looking at a bandaged, whimpering form in a bed. Madame Pomfrey walked over. "What happened?"

"As far as I could tell, he used alchemy to increase the air pressure around her to almost lethal levels. It broke two of her ribs. And what's worse, he brought the pressure back to normal all at once. It could have killed her!"

"What could have killed her?"

"A condition that divers call 'The Bends'. When divers dive very deep, the pressure increases around them. Nitrogen builds up in the blood to equalize the pressure. If a diver ascends too rapidly, the nitrogen forms bubbles. If a bubble travels through the blood to the lungs or heart it could kill the person. What Malfoy did was like taking her from the bottom of the sea to the top of Everest in a heartbeat. The worst case of the bends I've ever seen." Ron was furious. He stormed off toward the Great Hall. Revenge would be his.

As Ron made his way down the halls, a piece of his mind was detached from the seething, angry, rest of it. He remembered a book that he'd read, about a detective who'd been in AA. In the book it mentioned a "dry drunk" but what the detective called it seemed to fit Ron's situation. A case of terminal assholeitis. At that moment, Ron dedicated himself to the systematic decontstruction of Draco Malfoy.

Harry and Hermione were in the Great Hall when Ron stormed in. "Where's Malfoy!" He bellowed.

"I don't know, Ron. Why?" asked Harry.

"I'm going to kill that bastard for what he did?" Ron was in a rage, they could see. He was beet red and was on the verge of foaming at the mouth.

"What did he do?" asked Hermione.

"That no-good, lowdown, Mudblood Rat-Bastard nearly killed Ginny!"

"What!" Harry and Hermione were in shock, both at the swearing that Ron was doing, and the fact that Ginny'd had a brush with death. "How?"

"They were dueling in Alchemy. Malfoy used alchemy to increase the air pressure around her until it broke her ribs, then brought the pressure back to normal all at once. The bend nearly killed her."

"So you're going to beat the tar out of him?"

"No, Harry. I'm going to skin him alive and wear his hide for a cloak, tear his greasy head off and use it for a Quaffle!"

"Calm down, Ron. I'm sure there's a less lethal way to deal with this. Ginny's still alive, that's all that matters. We'll deal with this when you calm down and get to thinking straight. Okay?"

"Alright. But I'm going to get my pound of flesh, Harry. That's a promise."

Malfoy, on the other hand, was in the Slytherin Common Room, which had been vacated, scrubbed, and sterilized. He'd realized that when the Weasel found out about his little sister, he might need both hands to keep the red-headed boy off him. So he'd gotten back to Winry and they'd hastily put together an operating room in the Common Room. Malfoy was on the table, biting a piece of leather and trying, unsuccessfully, not to scream. He'd managed to take off his own hand, and was now getting the port for the new hand attached. Winry was cursing and swearing about lack of preparation, unsatisfactory conditions, and a laundry list of other beefs. "This is going to hurt, Malfoy," she said as the port was finished. She took the hand and wrist, and inserted it into the port. Malfoy let out an enearthly howl of agony, and curled up in a fetal position. He blacked out from the pain.

He woke up three hours later on the couch in the Common Room. He looked down at his new hand. It was flat black, and when he flexed his fingers he was overcome with joy.

"Like it?" asked Winry.

"I do."


End file.
